Fortnite cross-play controversy: Sony’s latest doesn’t inspire

With Fortnite‘s arrival on Nintendo Switch earlier in the month, Sony suddenly found itself the target of a lot of angry gamers. Many Fortnite fans discovered that their Fortnite accounts were locked to PS4 when they tried to sign in on Nintendo Switch. This, of course, meant that those interested in playing on both PS4 and Switch would need to create separate accounts, and purchases made on one wouldn’t transfer to the other.

As it turns out, Sony is preventing PS4 players from using their Epic Games accounts on Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. Accounts will still work on PC and mobile, which is why we didn’t really hear much outcry until Fortnite arrived on the Nintendo eShop. We haven’t heard a whole lot from Sony on the matter, and what little the company has said was ultimately disappointing.

Speaking to Eurogamer, Sony touched on the controversy once again, offering a little morsel of hope that the issue will soon be resolved. At the Gamelab conference in Spain, Sony Interactive Entertainment America CEO and SIE Worldwide Studios chairman Shawn Layden told Eurogamer that Sony is “looking at” potential solutions that work for both it and consumers.

“We’re hearing it,” Layden said. “We’re looking at a lot of the possibilities. You can imagine that the circumstances around that affect a lot more than just one game. I’m confident we’ll get to a solution which will be understood and accepted by our gaming community, while at the same time supporting our business.”

Ultimately, this statement doesn’t really get us closer to Fortnite accounts that are truly cross-platform, and one has to wonder if Sony is just going to keep saying “we’re listening” until the outrage blows over. Hopefully that isn’t the case and Sony really is working something out, but for the time being, your Fortnite account will remain locked to PS4 and inaccessible on Xbox One and Switch. We’ll keep an ear to the ground for more, so stay tuned.